The Order of the Seraphim is Sweden's foremost order of chivalry and is conferred upon members of the Swedish Royal House, foreign heads of state or individuals of equal merits. Each new knight of the order is expected to submit a proposal for a heraldic coat of arms, a Seraphim Coat of Arms, which is then painted. Heraldry has traditional and often strict rules, and the sole function of a coat of arms is to identify its owner. However, this does not prevent a coat of arms from conveying idea-content, such as specific messages and identities. This essay is a qualitative analysis of the Seraphim Coats of Arms of Finnish and Icelandic presidents, where the aim is to analyze symbols and idea-content, heraldic style as well as style development and national differences. The investigation analyzes the Seraphim Coats of Arms of eight Finnish presidents and five Icelandic presidents between the years 1925 and 2018. The essay employs semiotics as its theoretical framework and iconographic and iconological analysis as method. The results show that the weapons not only identify their owner, but also convey messages and identity – idea-content that can be intentional, but not always obvious. Symbols, idea-content and heraldic style vary. The majority represent the office of president and national symbols, such as the flag or coat of arms of the country. The Seraphim Coats of Arms of the Finnish presidents, with few exceptions, follow the strict tradition of heraldry and are generally archaically simple in their design. Among Finnish presidents, for example, policies and statements are more frequent, where the image of the president as a unifying figure is conveyed in the coats of arms. The coats of arms of the Icelandic presidents are more varied in both idea-content and style. In both countries there are examples of canting arms, arms that represent the bearer's name. The coats of arms of the Finnish and Icelandic heads of state represent a distinct heraldic time frame. The Finnish arms cover a period of just under a century, the Icelandic somewhat shorter. Together they form a unique insight into Nordic heraldry for almost 100 years.

The constitution of the Republic of South Africa has mandated government to keep in touch with the citizens, by regularly updating them on the services available for the improvement of their lives, and further to constantly report back on progress made in implementing government policies. In recent years, the country has been experiencing sporadic service delivery protests especially at the local sphere of government (municipal level). The aim of the study was therefore to examine the success of the communication and information system of the South African government in disseminating information to citizens. The area of the study was the Province of Mpumalanga which is one (1) of the nine (9) provinces constituting the Republic of South Africa. For the study, quantitative research method in the form of a survey was adopted, the hypothesis tested and the findings generalised. In creating a sample frame for the study, both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were adopted. The type of data collection instrument adopted was a structured questionnaire. Single-stage cluster sampling was adopted for heads of government communication whereas judgemental or purposive sampling technique was adopted for citizens. Data was analysed utilising data tabulation, descriptives, and data disaggregation quantitative data analysis procedures. The key findings of the study, amongst others, are: (a) That the current communication and information system being utilised by the South African government has an impact (it has improved communication with citizens); (b) That the citizens prefer government to communicate with them in their own indigenous languages (communicating in all eleven (11) official languages); (c) That the citizens prefer face-to-face communication; (d) That citizens would like to receive government messages via social media (given its immediacy and interactivity); and (e) That the low status of the communication function at the local government level denies communicators access to information to be communicated. Amongst others, the study recommends that (1) communication should be recognised as a strategic management function in all spheres of government; (2) the use of radio as the primary channel of information should be strengthened; (3) face-to-face communication with citizens should be strengthened; (4) information dissemination should be done in all eleven (11) official languages, including in Braille and sign-language; (5) social media and SMS notification should be included in the government communication policy as one of its official information dissemination channels. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Ce mémoire examine l'adoption des téléphones mobiles et l'utilisation des messages texte (SMS) par les adolescents chinois, selon la théorie des usages et gratifications et de la recherche sur la communication par ordinateur. Certains champs particuliers de l'utilisation des messages textes par les adolescents chinois, comme le contrôle parental, la circulation des chaînes de messages, la popularité des messages de salutations et l'utilisation répandue des émoticônes ont été étudiés. La fonction sociale des SMS, plus particulièrement des pratiques sociales et des relations émotionnelles des adolescents chinois, a également été explorée. Cette étude est basée sur un sondage réalisé sur le terrain auprès de 100 adolescents chinois. Elle révèle que chez les adolescents chinois, les deux principales raisons pour l'adoption du téléphone mobile sont l'influence parentale et le besoin de communication sociale. Quant à l'utilisation des messages texte, elle répond à sept usages et gratifications : la flexibilité, le coût modique, l’intimité, éviter l'embarras, le divertissement, l'engouement et l'évasion. Il a également été observé que les messages texte jouent un rôle positif dans la construction et l'entretien des relations sociales des adolescents chinois. / This thesis examined the adoption of mobile phones and use of SMS among Chinese teenagers based on the uses and gratification theory and computer-mediated communication research. Specific areas of Chinese teenagers’ SMS use, such as parental control, the circulation of chain messages, the popularity of greeting messages and the wide use of emoticons were studied. The social functions of SMS, especially in Chinese teenagers’ social-emotional practice, were explored as well. This study is based on a field survey conducted among one hundred Chinese teenagers. It reveals that, for Chinese teenagers, the two main reasons for the adoption of mobile phones are parental influence and the need for social communication; the use of SMS corresponds to seven uses and gratifications: flexibility, low cost, privacy, embarrassment avoidance, entertainment, fad and escape. SMS is also used by Chinese teenagers to build and maintain their social relationships.

The constitution of the Republic of South Africa has mandated government to keep in touch with the citizens, by regularly updating them on the services available for the improvement of their lives, and further to constantly report back on progress made in implementing government policies. In recent years, the country has been experiencing sporadic service delivery protests especially at the local sphere of government (municipal level). The aim of the study was therefore to examine the success of the communication and information system of the South African government in disseminating information to citizens. The area of the study was the Province of Mpumalanga which is one (1) of the nine (9) provinces constituting the Republic of South Africa. For the study, quantitative research method in the form of a survey was adopted, the hypothesis tested and the findings generalised. In creating a sample frame for the study, both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were adopted. The type of data collection instrument adopted was a structured questionnaire. Single-stage cluster sampling was adopted for heads of government communication whereas judgemental or purposive sampling technique was adopted for citizens. Data was analysed utilising data tabulation, descriptives, and data disaggregation quantitative data analysis procedures. The key findings of the study, amongst others, are: (a) That the current communication and information system being utilised by the South African government has an impact (it has improved communication with citizens); (b) That the citizens prefer government to communicate with them in their own indigenous languages (communicating in all eleven (11) official languages); (c) That the citizens prefer face-to-face communication; (d) That citizens would like to receive government messages via social media (given its immediacy and interactivity); and (e) That the low status of the communication function at the local government level denies communicators access to information to be communicated. Amongst others, the study recommends that (1) communication should be recognised as a strategic management function in all spheres of government; (2) the use of radio as the primary channel of information should be strengthened; (3) face-to-face communication with citizens should be strengthened; (4) information dissemination should be done in all eleven (11) official languages, including in Braille and sign-language; (5) social media and SMS notification should be included in the government communication policy as one of its official information dissemination channels. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication)

Ce mémoire examine l'adoption des téléphones mobiles et l'utilisation des messages texte (SMS) par les adolescents chinois, selon la théorie des usages et gratifications et de la recherche sur la communication par ordinateur. Certains champs particuliers de l'utilisation des messages textes par les adolescents chinois, comme le contrôle parental, la circulation des chaînes de messages, la popularité des messages de salutations et l'utilisation répandue des émoticônes ont été étudiés. La fonction sociale des SMS, plus particulièrement des pratiques sociales et des relations émotionnelles des adolescents chinois, a également été explorée. Cette étude est basée sur un sondage réalisé sur le terrain auprès de 100 adolescents chinois. Elle révèle que chez les adolescents chinois, les deux principales raisons pour l'adoption du téléphone mobile sont l'influence parentale et le besoin de communication sociale. Quant à l'utilisation des messages texte, elle répond à sept usages et gratifications : la flexibilité, le coût modique, l’intimité, éviter l'embarras, le divertissement, l'engouement et l'évasion. Il a également été observé que les messages texte jouent un rôle positif dans la construction et l'entretien des relations sociales des adolescents chinois. / This thesis examined the adoption of mobile phones and use of SMS among Chinese teenagers based on the uses and gratification theory and computer-mediated communication research. Specific areas of Chinese teenagers’ SMS use, such as parental control, the circulation of chain messages, the popularity of greeting messages and the wide use of emoticons were studied. The social functions of SMS, especially in Chinese teenagers’ social-emotional practice, were explored as well. This study is based on a field survey conducted among one hundred Chinese teenagers. It reveals that, for Chinese teenagers, the two main reasons for the adoption of mobile phones are parental influence and the need for social communication; the use of SMS corresponds to seven uses and gratifications: flexibility, low cost, privacy, embarrassment avoidance, entertainment, fad and escape. SMS is also used by Chinese teenagers to build and maintain their social relationships.

De nos jours, la voiture est devenue le mode de transport le plus utilisé, mais malheureusement, il est accompagné d’un certain nombre de problèmes (accidents, pollution, embouteillages, etc.), qui vont aller en s’aggravant avec l’augmentation prévue du nombre de voitures particulières, malgré les efforts très importants mis en œuvre pour tenter de les réduire ; le nombre de morts sur les routes demeure très important. Les réseaux sans fil de véhicules, appelés VANET, qui consistent de plusieurs véhicules mobiles sans infrastructure préexistante pour communiquer, font actuellement l’objet d'une attention accrue de la part des constructeurs et des chercheurs, afin d’améliorer la sécurité sur les routes ou encore les aides proposées aux conducteurs. Par exemple, ils peuvent avertir d’autres automobilistes que les routes sont glissantes ou qu’un accident vient de se produire. Dans VANET, les protocoles de diffusion (broadcast) jouent un rôle très important par rapport aux messages unicast, car ils sont conçus pour transmettre des messages de sécurité importants à tous les nœuds. Ces protocoles de diffusion ne sont pas fiables et ils souffrent de plusieurs problèmes, à savoir : (1) Tempête de diffusion (broadcast storm) ; (2) Nœud caché (hidden node) ; (3) Échec de la transmission. Ces problèmes doivent être résolus afin de fournir une diffusion fiable et rapide. L’objectif de notre recherche est de résoudre certains de ces problèmes, tout en assurant le meilleur compromis entre fiabilité, délai garanti, et débit garanti (Qualité de Service : QdS). Le travail de recherche de ce mémoire a porté sur le développement d’une nouvelle technique qui peut être utilisée pour gérer le droit d’accès aux médias (protocole de gestion des émissions), la gestion de grappe (cluster) et la communication. Ce protocole intègre l'approche de gestion centralisée des grappes stables et la transmission des données. Dans cette technique, le temps est divisé en cycles, chaque cycle est partagé entre les canaux de service et de contrôle, et divisé en deux parties. La première partie s’appuie sur TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). La deuxième partie s’appuie sur CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance) pour gérer l’accès au medium. En outre, notre protocole ajuste d’une manière adaptative le temps consommé dans la diffusion des messages de sécurité, ce qui permettra une amélioration de la capacité des canaux. Il est implanté dans la couche MAC (Medium Access Control), centralisé dans les têtes de grappes (CH, cluster-head) qui s’adaptent continuellement à la dynamique des véhicules. Ainsi, l’utilisation de ce protocole centralisé nous assure une consommation efficace d’intervalles de temps pour le nombre exact de véhicules actifs, y compris les nœuds/véhicules cachés; notre protocole assure également un délai limité pour les applications de sécurité, afin d’accéder au canal de communication, et il permet aussi de réduire le surplus (overhead) à l’aide d’une propagation dirigée de diffusion. / Nowadays, the car has become the most popular mode of transport, but unfortunately its use is accompanied by a number of problems (accidents, pollution, congestion, etc.). These problems will get worse with the increase in the number of passenger cars, despite very significant efforts made to reduce the number of road deaths, which is still very high. Wireless networks for vehicles called VANET (Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks), were developed when it became possible to connect several mobile vehicles without relying on pre existing communication infrastructures. These networks have currently become the subject of increased attention from manufacturers and researchers, due to their potential for improving road safety and/or offering assistance to drivers. They can, for example, alert other drivers that roads are slippery or that an accident has just occurred. In VANETs, broadcast protocols play a very important role compared to unicast protocols, since they are designed to communicate important safety messages to all nodes. Existing broadcast protocols are not reliable and suffer from several problems: (1) broadcast storms, (2) hidden nodes, and (3) transmission failures. These problems must solved if VANETs are to become reliable and able to disseminate messages rapidly. The aim of our research is to solve some of these problems while ensuring the best compromise among reliability, guaranteed transmission times and bandwidth (Quality of Service: QoS). The research in this thesis focuses on developing a new technique for managing medium access. This protocol incorporates the centralized management approach involving stable clusters. In this technique, time is divided into cycles; with each cycle being shared among the control and service channels, and is divided into two segments. The first is based on TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) while the second is based on CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) to manage access to the medium. Furthermore, our protocol adaptively adjusts the time consumed in broadcasting safety messages, thereby improving channel capacity. It is implemented in the MAC (Medium Access Control), and centralized in stable cluster heads that are able to adapt to the dynamics of vehicles. This protocol provides a centralized and efficient use of time intervals for an exact number of active vehicles, including hidden nodes/vehicles. Our protocol also provides time intervals dedicated to security applications for providing access to communication channels, and also reduces overhead via directed diffusion of data. Keywords: Ad-hoc networks, VANET, Vehicle, Periodic Safety Messages, broadcast protocols, contention-free.

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The background and problem statement focuses on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the use of mobile technology to improve compliance within a primary health care (PHC) context in South Africa. South Africa is one of the countries, globally, with the highest HIV incidence and prevalence and ART enrolled patients visiting PHC facilities. Compliance to ART plays an integral part in effective HIV/AIDS management. HIV/AIDS management entails a complex process of patient education and pharmacological control to improve ART compliance in South Africa. Studies were done in South Africa on reminder messages as most studies focused on chronic conditions in general. A literature review explored what is known about ART and mobile technology to improve compliance. Literature confirmed that compliance through reminder messages were done worldwide and in Sub-Saharan countries. Previous research indicated that the compliance rate of the patients increased through reminder messages. Yet there is a gap in the literature regarding reminder messages combined with health education on ART compliance. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of reminder messages combined with health education on ART compliance among patients receiving ART at a PHC facility Methodology: The study followed a quantitative, experimental, intervention, randomised multi-group, pre- and post measurement design (Creswell, 2012:1, Welman et al., 2012:80). The research design is experimental because the researcher applied an intervention (reminder messages) to two experimental groups. Random sampling was applied and participants were grouped into three groups: Group A, (control group), Group B, (reminder messages only) and Group C (reminder messages combined with health education). A preand post-measurement design is followed as each participant’s pill count and return date were measured before and after the reminder messages with/without health education were given. The sample size was 202 eligible patients receiving Regime 1 and 2 ART’s (Lamuvidine, Tenofovir, Efavirenz, Nevirapine, Alluvia® and Zidovudine) at a PHC facility in the North West, South Africa (N=202). The sample size was determined with guidance of statistical services to ensure that results obtained from the study would be reliable and significant. Data collection was done in three phases. Phase one (1) consisted of collecting the biographical data and a pre-measurement of pill count and return dates for participants in Groups A, B and C. Phase two (2) consisted of sending bi-weekly messages (Group B) via WinSMS and with health education (Group C) for three (3) months. Phase three (3) consisted of post-measurement of participants’ pill count and return date for Groups A,B and C. Data collection stretched over six months (October 2013-March 2014), namely three months pre-measurement, then activation of intervention combined with another three months post-measurement. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was conducted through SPSS (SPSS Inc., 2013). Descriptive statistics indicated that more female patients visited the PHC facility for ART on a more regular basis. It was concluded that the experimental group proved a slight increase in compliance with regards to return date after the SMS intervention. No difference was noted in compliance to pill counts. It can also be concluded that pill counts is a complex monitoring procedure with room for error from the patients’ aspect. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The background and problem statement focuses on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the use of mobile technology to improve compliance within a primary health care (PHC) context in South Africa. South Africa is one of the countries, globally, with the highest HIV incidence and prevalence and ART enrolled patients visiting PHC facilities. Compliance to ART plays an integral part in effective HIV/AIDS management. HIV/AIDS management entails a complex process of patient education and pharmacological control to improve ART compliance in South Africa. Studies were done in South Africa on reminder messages as most studies focused on chronic conditions in general. A literature review explored what is known about ART and mobile technology to improve compliance. Literature confirmed that compliance through reminder messages were done worldwide and in Sub-Saharan countries. Previous research indicated that the compliance rate of the patients increased through reminder messages. Yet there is a gap in the literature regarding reminder messages combined with health education on ART compliance. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of reminder messages combined with health education on ART compliance among patients receiving ART at a PHC facility Methodology: The study followed a quantitative, experimental, intervention, randomised multi-group, pre- and post measurement design (Creswell, 2012:1, Welman et al., 2012:80). The research design is experimental because the researcher applied an intervention (reminder messages) to two experimental groups. Random sampling was applied and participants were grouped into three groups: Group A, (control group), Group B, (reminder messages only) and Group C (reminder messages combined with health education). A preand post-measurement design is followed as each participant’s pill count and return date were measured before and after the reminder messages with/without health education were given. The sample size was 202 eligible patients receiving Regime 1 and 2 ART’s (Lamuvidine, Tenofovir, Efavirenz, Nevirapine, Alluvia® and Zidovudine) at a PHC facility in the North West, South Africa (N=202). The sample size was determined with guidance of statistical services to ensure that results obtained from the study would be reliable and significant. Data collection was done in three phases. Phase one (1) consisted of collecting the biographical data and a pre-measurement of pill count and return dates for participants in Groups A, B and C. Phase two (2) consisted of sending bi-weekly messages (Group B) via WinSMS and with health education (Group C) for three (3) months. Phase three (3) consisted of post-measurement of participants’ pill count and return date for Groups A,B and C. Data collection stretched over six months (October 2013-March 2014), namely three months pre-measurement, then activation of intervention combined with another three months post-measurement. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was conducted through SPSS (SPSS Inc., 2013). Descriptive statistics indicated that more female patients visited the PHC facility for ART on a more regular basis. It was concluded that the experimental group proved a slight increase in compliance with regards to return date after the SMS intervention. No difference was noted in compliance to pill counts. It can also be concluded that pill counts is a complex monitoring procedure with room for error from the patients’ aspect. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The study examines the impact of communication on customer satisfaction at the Transvaal Museum. Customer satisfaction refers to customer's overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the organisation based on all encounters and experience with that particular organisation. Communication has an impact on both customer satisfaction and future behavioural actions of consumers. There are four sources of brand messages namely, planned, unplanned, product and service messages. In the quest for increased customer satisfaction, companies are moving away from the traditional 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion) of the marketing mix to the 8Ps. The other four Ps include physical assets, procedures, personnel and personalisation. Integration of all marketing communications to customers is seen as a key activity in companies' attempts to build long term-relationships. On the whole, the study has indicated that customers of the museum are satisfied with its products, services and messages. However, the research has also shown that customers are not happy with the way the museum handles its planned communication activities. / Communication Science / M.A. (Organisational Communication Research Practice)